MST3K 208 - Lost Continent
The movie An expedition sent to retrieve a rocket that went missing over the South Pacific discovers a plateau inhabited by prehistoric creatures. The episode Host segments Prologue: Joel gives the Bots a locker room pep talk before the movie. Invention Exchange: The Mads introduce "Rock Climbing", Frank demonstrates a mobile treadmill, and Joel doesn't have time to show his invention. When he refuses to go into the theater, he gets a shock to the shammies. Segment Two: Joel and the Bots tell jokes before "Hugh Beaumont" drops by for a visit, where he reveals he's actually one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Segment Three: The SOL crew does a sketch, "The Explorers" (a Quinn Martin production), in which Joel plays a condescending explorer. The Bots refuse to support the White Male Reality. ) stops by']] '''Segment Four:' Joel and the Bots spot a Cool Thing. They encourage the viewers to send in suggestions as to what the Cool Thing really is. Segment Five: The SOL crew analyzes the movie, and come to the conclusion that Robert L. Lippert really liked padding, Tom Servo presents casting facts, and Crow gets a bit off base about the director. Joel reads a letter, and the Mads assert that they won, although they probably didn't. Stinger: A cranky explorer by the fire with the party's doc. Trivia * This episode aired fourth during Turkey Day '92 and third during Turkey Day '14. Obscure references *"The Incredible Mr. Lippert."'' :A take on the 1964 film . The riff would later be used as the title of a Ballyhoo Motion Pictures documentary on the career of Robert L. Lippert. *''"Hey we landed on a witch! Maybe the film will be in color from this point."'' :Refers to the beginning of the 1939 film . The film begins in sepia tone. However, after Dorothy's farmhouse is carried away by the tornado and falls on top of the Wicked Witch of the East, the film is in color. *''Maybe there was hand soap in the hydraulic fluid'' :A reference to one of many implausible plot twists in the TV-star studded KTMA season disaster flick SST- Death Flight. * "Joel, why are we watching this dull mountain climbing sequence?" "Well, because it's there." :A reference to a quote attributed to explorer , his answer to the question "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?": "Because it's there." *''"A brontosaurus in Africa?" "Shhh!"'' :Crow and Joel quote a recurring joke from , replacing the word tiger with brontosaurus. *''They're looking for the Batcave.'' :A reference to the film's lead Cesar Romero appearing as The Joker in the Batman television show of the 1960s (starring Adam West), whose portrayal of the iconic villain bore a mustache due to Romero's refusal to shave his off and thus had the white makeup applied over it. Behind the scenes MST3K cast Regular cast *Joel Hodgson - Joel Robinson *Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester *Kevin Murphy - Tom Servo *Frank Conniff - TV's Frank Guest cast *Michael J. Nelson - Hugh Beaumont MST3K crew Production *Joel finally gets to demonstrate his invention in the next episode. *The Cool Thing is not revealed until next season's Fugitive Alien. *During the movie's opening credits, Joel and the Bots joke about the similarity between the names of producer Sigmund Neufeld and director Sam Newfield. The two men were in fact brothers - Newfield had changed his name when he became a director.Sensesofcinema.com Fast Worker: The Films of Sam Newfield *The SOL crew immediately identify the reused footage from Rocketship X-M at the start for the rocket launch; but they don't appear to remember that they likewise saw the footage of the dinosaurs prior in Robot Monster. This movie was the source of the footage for that movie. *"Rock climbing" became a recurring joke on this show after this episode, as shorthand for a particularly brutal part of a movie. *Joel begins wearing a turquoise jumpsuit with this episode. Callbacks * "We’re on our way!" (Rocketship X-M) * "Charbroiled hamburger sandwich and french fried potatoes!" (Jungle Goddess) * "Thees will seemplify everything!" (The Phantom Creeps) * "Over here is the set of The Mad Monster..." * "Chili peppers, they burn my gut." (The Side Hackers) * "That square bugs me! He really bugs me!" (Wild Rebels) Movie Edits As with most of the riffed films, Lost Continent was edited to fit the television aspect ratio and had several scenes trimmed in length to fit within the desired time-slot. Altered footage in this film included: * A scene was removed in which Major Nolan goes to talk with the scientists on the plane, including Dr. Rostov mentioning "unpredictables," events that can't be accounted for. This is referenced throughout the film. * A brief sequence where the plane lands to refuel was removed. * Scenes taking place on top of the plateau were tinted green in the original film. This was recolored to blueish-violet to match the rest of the film. Despite this, lines of dialogue were kept where the characters are surprised at the sudden change, and Servo jokes that if only the film was in color, it would mean something. * The scene where Sergeant Tatlow dies and is buried by the others was cut, with Joel commenting on the "short mourning period" when the film suddenly jumps ahead. Goofs *In the prologue, Joel mentions the experiments before this episode as Wild Rebels and Rocket Attack U.S.A. The first is correct; however the episode shown before Wild Rebels was actually Ring of Terror. Video releases *Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in March 2010 as part of Volume XVIII, a 4-disc set along with Crash of Moons, The Beast of Yucca Flats, and Jack Frost. ** DVD special features include an introduction by Frank Conniff and the original theatrical trailer. * Digitally available through Shout's official Youtube page (with annotations), Shoutfactorytv.com, Youtube, Rifftrax, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Vudu, and VHX. Gallery References Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Episodes directed by Jim Mallon